Final Sunday at LWC

Yesterday was my last Sunday at Living Waters. Tonight, I'll attend my last session meeting at LWC. Then, tomorrow evening we'll meet with our realtor in Florence and make final arrangements before we close on our house on Wednesday. Wednesday night, Laura and I will attend a Jubilee dinner for world missions.

Sunday was a memorable day. It was a privilege to be able to play with the band one last time and preach on God's calling in our lives. The Session very graciously gave me a going away present- a new Geneva Gown to use in my ministry at Effingham Presbyterian. My wife Laura also surprised me with a set of mugs (pictured) signed by all of our friends at LWC.

As much fun as it was to celebrate together one last time, our ultimate purpose was to worship the Lord and celebrate Him. When we celebrate in worship together, we are refreshed and renewed for the coming week. In yesterday's case, I feel renewed and refreshed for the coming years, having had a chance to be with the good folks at LWC as we celebrated what God has done at Living Waters, and what He is preparing to do at Living Waters and Effingham. The sense of a connectional spirit was palpable as we all affirmed how we are united in service for God's Kingdom no matter where we may be in that kingdom.

Hearing God's Call: Mr. See Owned a Saw

This Sunday I'll be preaching on "hearing" God's call for your life. This is a topic that we often misunderstand, so I hope it will be helpful to study. Here is a toungue twister I found while looking for a good sermon illustration. Share it with your family at dinner tonight, and remember that this Sunday is "family worship," so we'll be incorporating kids into the worship time.

Mr. See owned a saw.
And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.
Now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw
Before Soar saw See,
Which made Soar sore.
Had Soar seen See's saw
Before See sawed Soar's seesaw,
See's saw would not have sawed
Soar's seesaw.
So See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw.
But it was sad to see Soar so sore
Just because See's saw sawed
Soar's seesaw!

PS: You can study some great scripture passages for yourself before this Sunday. Read John 16:13 and Revelation 22:18. Do these verses have anything to do with one another? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

FAQ About Our Move

Hi Everyone!
Thanks for all your questions and comments about our big move coming up in May. Here are some of the questions we've been asked most:

Are you not happy at Living Waters?
We are all very happy, and it will be very hard to say goodbye to such a nurturing worship environment.

Did David Zimmerman ask you to leave?
David has never asked me to leave, and he has always been supportive of my gifts and ministries. I've always felt that he valued my role at LWC. He’s a good friend that I’m glad to have.

Are you leaving as the result of some conflict with Leadership?
No. Simply put, I recognize that God is calling me to serve in a different church, and unfortunately that means I can not also serve Living Waters. If I could serve both, I would!

Is this about money?
Living Waters has always provided a generous financial package for our family, and we’ve always felt that LWC takes good care of its pastors. Money was not a factor in this decision.

I thought you didn’t want to be a senior/solo pastor.
When Living Waters was looking for a pastor back in 2006, I knew that I would not be the best fit for a young church. I even questioned whether I could ever be in such a position. Over the last two years, I’ve been able to grow as a leader and teacher thanks to several folks at Living Waters, namely Bill Babson, Alex Coblentz, David Zimmerman, and the Session. Only now do I feel that God could use me as a senior pastor.

How long have you been at Living Waters?
I arrived in June 2002, about a year after Laura. We were literally the first 2 official members on the roll.

It seems like every time I turn around, some pastor is leaving.
Depending on how often you turn around, you could be right. The average pastor moves every 5-6 years (John R. Cionca)

How does your family feel about this?
Laura is giving up a lot in this move, as she loves serving in the Clover school district. However, she too recognizes God’s calling in this new opportunity. She’s eager to serve wherever the Lord needs her most. Harrison is excited because he'll be getting a lot of attention-- he's the only toddler in the church.

Is this why you sold your house?
Actually, no. We listed our house in October, about three months before being asked out to lunch by representatives of the new church. They extended the call to me as pastor on the day we signed the papers selling our home in Autumn Cove (March 7th).

What is the new church like? Where is it? What will you be doing?
Effingham Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is part of the same denomination and presbytery as Living Waters. It is over 100 years old and is located south of Florence, SC in a rural town called Effingham. It's about 3 hours southeast of Lake Wylie. I'll be serving as their pastor, which means I'll be preaching each week and providing leadership and pastoral care for about 145 people.

When will you be leaving?
My last Sunday at Living Waters will be April 27th, my last official day will be April 30th.

Modern Art and Ancient Calling

I was inspired this week after hearing a story on NPR about the “Colorfield” School of painting. The most well-known example of this movement (at least to me) is/was Mark Rothko. But it was the story of Gene Davis, one of the movements primary influences, that caught my ear. He had a fulfilling career as a sportswriter covering the Washington Redskins before pursuing art in middle age.

As you know, the relationship between art, artists, and culture is something important to me. Most guys like me have early adolescent dreams of rock stardom only to find that their calling is something else. I’d make a terrible rockstar these days! So where does a love of artistry fit in when your true calling is a bit more practical? For me, it’s worked out well thus far. My true calling is pastoring and shepherding in the church. But God has put me in a position where I’m also able to share music with people each week.

For Gene Davis, sportswriting was his vocation (I don’t know if he would have said it was his calling), but being an artist was his passion. When he realized he would never have time to learn “proper” art, he created a new art form using very strict lines and colors. Necessity became the mother of invention, so to speak, and he had a significant impact in creating an entire movement of modern art. Pretty good for a sportswriter, eh?

I tell you all of this to raise some questions in your own mind. What has God made you passionate about? What vocation has He called you to? In what situation in life (sitz en lieben) has God placed you? All these things influence the Purpose that God has called you to, but they may not all be the same thing. For example, Jesus’ earliest vocation was that of a carpenter working in His dad’s shop, but his calling and passion was something far greater.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28 NIV)

Oh, and hear is a related link on a new form of Colorfield expression: Analog Color Field Computing. Be sure to watch the short video; it is both haunting and beautiful. Postmodern modernism?

When to Stay-When to Leave

People often ask me, "why should I join the Church? Is membership really that important" I think membership with a local body of believers is vital to the Christian walk, commanded by God, and beyond just attending group worship.

I stumbled across an article by Dr. Glenn Parkinson entitled Churches: When to Join-When to Leave the other day, and thought you all might be interested in it. Parkinson writes,

"...Christ’s church is both an organism and an
organization. As an organism, it consists of all people, around the
world and through all ages (including those now in heaven) who have
been saved by the Lord Jesus. This is the body of Christ. It is a living
Temple made up of people.
But Christ’s church is also an organization that supports these
people. It is identified and known by its organizational structure.
It makes decisions binding on its membership. It is entrusted with
the gospel message – to proclaim it and preserve it for the next
generation."

A good, simple analogy of the dynamic between the visible/invisble church, or if you like, the spiritual/political.
You can read more of the document here. It may download as a PDF in some browsers.

Whenever I Open My Mouth

While our Session had its retreat a couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to take a brief "retreat of silence." We spent about an hour on our own-- no cell phones, no conversation, no iPods...absolute silence. I found it to be a very enriching time. As suggested by a study guide we were given, I prayed through the following verse. It helped me get the right perspective on what God asks of every pastor. I hope you'll consider praying through it yourselves on a Sunday morning for your own pastor(s).

Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)
"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

You'll note, of course, that such an idea is not limited to those preaching and teaching-- it is a prayer we would do well to pray ourselves in any situation where we have the opportunity to share God's Good News.

From Mountain-Top to Valley Floor

I imagine many of you have heard of the term, "a mountain-top experience." It's one of those ideas that we often encounter peace, wisdom, or something else that enlightens our lives after we've journeyed to a place (literal or metaphorical) of solitude and refreshment.

Last weekend, several of our leaders at Living Waters had a mountain-top experience as our pastor, David, led a retreat on re-defining the vision for Living Waters. It was a great experience, and many of us recognized that our "new" vision is the same as the vision we've had along: to serve Christ at our church with a specific purpose. We don't want to do ministries just because we've always done them or because they worked for another church. We want to do them because God wants Living Waters to do them. This mountain top experience was an important step in reclaiming the God's vision for LWC after so many months of simply nursing our wounds.

In my bible study today, I realized for the first time that Peter, James, and John had a mountain-top experience, too. They were with Jesus at his Transfiguration-- a pretty significant moment (Luke 9:28-35). I'd expect that the experience would be life-affirming and life-changing for anyone. Yet, only a few verses later (Luke 9:40), a man tells Jesus,

"I begged your disciples to [heal my son] but they could not."

The disciples had seen a glimpse of Christ in all of his glory, but when it came time to fulfill their mission in his name, they failed.

These passages reminded me how easy it is to have clear vision and purpose on one day, but to fail when the challenges of life overtake us on another day.

I hope you will be praying for your Elders at Living Waters-- that the ideas and purpose God has given our church's leaders will be implemented and accepted by everyone, and that the Session's mountain-top experience won't stay on the mountain.

Elvis, Action, and Outflow

Back in July of '07, I was intrigued by a sign at the gas station...something along the lines of "live like a king." The sign was advertising the latest incarnation of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups; a Limited Edition Elvis Banana Creme and Peanut Butter. I didn't have any cash on me, and I had already paid at the pump, but I knew my week wouldn't be complete without trying this combination of some of my favorite things. I'm always a sucker for the various incarnations of Reese's (dark chocolate, honey peanut butter, inside-out) and when I was growing up, my mom would mix Peanut Butter, Bananas, and Duke's Mayo together and serve it on wheat bread- it's still one of my favorites.

Long story short, I visited 3 grocery stores that week before finally just heading back to the gas station where I had seen the sign. Even then, the candy hadn't been stocked on the shelves. The cashier had stashed them behind the register. I half expected to be asked a secret code word or something in order to get them! I bought two packs and immediately headed home to try them out. They were delicious as expected, and I was able to move on with my life.

Fast forward to present day January '08...the heady days of summer Reese's consumption have slowly given way to the slow winter. The other night I was at Bi-Lo here in Lake Wylie and saw a stray package of these "Limited Editions" mixed in with the standard Reese's cups. I figured I might as well enjoy them again one more/last time. Incidentally, January 8th was the King's birthday, so maybe it was serendipity that allowed me to stumble on the treat once again. The first batch had been released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of his death.

But as I was eating them, I was overcome with a whirlwind of emotion (okay, that may be a bit of an overstatement). Elvis was a musician first and foremost...the King of Rock 'N Roll who changed the face of radio for years to come. The Beatles, Dylan, U2, and more cite him as an early influence.

But today, his face is on a box of candy, inspired by his most peculiar of eating habits: the fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. I would argue that most know him best from Halloween costumes, Food TV trivia, parodies, and impersonators. In other words, Elvis is no longer known as an artist, but as a personality-- he's known for being Elvis.

The same can be said for many Christians. We are to reflect Christ in our daily lives. Our every action is supposed to point to the saving grace of our Heavenly father. Yet, we rarely are known for being like Christ. Instead, we're known for calling ourselves Christians. There is a big difference.

Jesus said in Luke 9:23:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself..."

In James 1:22-24, God tells us:

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."

This Christian life is a life that is Christ-filled, not compartmentalized. This past Sunday, as part of our series on Outflow, David Zimmerman talked about how tough it can be to share Christ's love with our family and friends because we've blown it so many times. We may have shown Christ's love in one area and been totally selfish in another. No one is perfect, and we're going to mess up, but the overall outflow of our lives is what we'll be known/remembered for.

There was a time when Elvis was known for music, singing, artistry, etc. As he grew older and more indulgent, he became known for his eating habits, drug addiction, marital infidelity, and eccentricity. Now his name is not at the top of the charts, it's on a box of candy.

Where will our names end up?

Better Living Through Compression?

A recent Rolling Stone article entitled "The Death of High Fidelity" discusses the impact that digital culture has had on music recordings. Essentially, to keep music convenient for downloading and optimized for computer speakers or Mp3 players, the files must be compressed. Compression basically cuts out the extremes that your ear (supposedly) doesn't hear and balances the other sounds into a relatively equal volume. The result? Music that cuts through the clutter of environmental noise but loses the nuance that makes it unique. If you're scratching your head and wondering if you've heard compression before, a non-musical example is the gripping TV drama that you've been sucked into only to be knocked senseless by the loud TV commercial that interrupts the mood. It's not just louder, it's also compressed so that it really knocks you over the head with its potency.

I noticed this in my own music collection once I began converting my CDs to digital. Some of the music I loved on CD with my home stereo lost it's beauty and richness on my iPod. I've since corrected the problem by loading CDs at a higher bitrate. The problem now days is that many CDs themselves are compressed from the beginning. As a result, they sound great in a noisy car or restaurant, but they lose their dynamic and even sound noisy in an audiophile environment. Here's a quote from the article from Daniel Leviton, author of This is Your Brain on Music:

"The excitement in music comes from variation in rhythm, timbre, pitch and loudness," Levitin says. "If you hold one of those constant, it can seem monotonous." After a few minutes, research shows, constant loudness grows fatiguing to the brain. Though few listeners realize this consciously, many feel an urge to skip to another song."

And this leads us to God (believe it or not). In the modern Christian walk, so many have the assumption that our relationship with God is loud, constant, and ready to cut through the mix of everyday life. We've stripped the nuance of meaning from His word and taken only the bits that will help us have our "Best Life Now." When we can't sense the Spirit's presence or discern His guidance, we assume He's not there. In reality, if teh Christian walk was all peaks and no valleys, it would have the same effect on our attitude as compressed music has on our ears. It is when we need God most that we may also appreciate Him most. The Psalmist experienced times when he was afflicted and felt distant from God. But David always knew God was still there. Note the pain in verse 1-2, followed by the assurance in 11-12:

Hear my prayer, O LORD!
And let my cry for help come to You.
Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call answer me quickly.... (Psalm 102:1-2)

My days are like a lengthened shadow,
And I wither away like grass.
But You, O LORD, abide forever,
And Your name to all generations. (Psalm 102: 11-12)

I'm always stunned by the honest acceptance of the ebb and flow of God's relationship with man as written in the Psalms. The relationship between Creator and created is not always happy clappy-- sometimes it is downright painful. Rest assured, though, it is certainly dynamic. It is filled with highs and lows, loud and soft, ballads and rockers. But when we strip our God down so He fits our lifestyle (like so many have done to their music collection) we take away the dynamic relationship that makes it beautiful. We compress it for convenient listening, and we don't even know what we're missing!